Watch for business email compromise, spear-phishing, and ransomware.

The year 2018 was another record-breaking year for cyber attacks, and organizations should expect more of the same in 2019. Attackers, who continue to prioritize email as the primary attack vector, are increasingly deploying more sophisticated phishing techniques to bypass traditional email security safeguards, thereby complicating cybersecurity initiatives for many government agencies and private sector businesses.

There’s a common theme among businesses where their tech is causing more of a burden on their operations than serving as a support system. Our mission is to help companies optimize their IT infrastructures, utilize technologies that simplify their day-to-day activities, and protect their company!

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You receive dozens, maybe even hundreds, of email messages each day. But not all those email messages are helpful or even wanted. Fortunately, Gmail has a pretty good spam management system. Even so, there are still times that you'll receive messages you don't want.

Reprinted by permission from Gartner - Licensed for Distribution

Phishing attacks are increasingly using impersonation to bypass traditional defense mechanisms. Weak sender identification will continue to present opportunities for creative attacks.

Your chances of talking your way out of a traffic ticket are slim – but it’s not uncommon for a driver to talk themselves INTO one by insulting the officer or annoying them enough to write a ticket when they might have otherwise let them off with a warning. Here are the things NOT to say: “Whatever…” This disrespectful remark will almost always insult the officer and land you with a ticket. Same goes for rolling your eyes, arguing or making profane remarks. “I didn’t run that light!” or other denials of wrong doing. If you did something wrong, admit it; you’re more likely to be given a warning. Of course, if you truly didn’t feel like you did what the officer claimed, don’t say you did something wrong just to agree with the officer. “I know the mayor.” Never pull a power play like this on an officer. They aren’t afraid of who you’re friends with if you broke the law. Remember, they’re doing their job by stopping you. “I’m calling my lawyer.” Again, this won’t threaten the police officer because they deal with lawyers all the time. Threatening an officer with your attorney is a no-win situation for you. “I’m on my way to the DMV/hospital.” If you were pulled over because of an expired ticket, don’t use this line. Cops hear it all the time. “But officer, I was just on my way to the inspection station…” And unless you are truly sick or injured and there’s a real emergency, don’t lie and make it sound as though you were responding to an emergency. Again, officers hear this all the time. “But everyone else was driving 90!” That doesn’t mean it’s okay or lawful. A police officer won’t let you off simply because everyone else is doing the same thing.

Back in April, the largest known e-mail security breach took place when Epsilon, an online marketing corporation, had their clients’ lists of e-mail addresses stolen by sophisticated cyber thieves. Epsilon was in charge of maintaining the e-mail databases and campaigns of some of the largest corporations in the country, including 1-800 Flowers, Best Buy, Walgreens, JPMorgan Chase, Capital One, and more. In fact, there’s a good chance that you’ve received multiple “apology” e-mails from these vendors. While some said the breach didn’t cause a whole lot of damage, we disagree. Essentially, these cyber criminals now have the ability to invent highly sophisticated phishing attacks by creating e-mail offers that look like legitimate promotions coming from companies they (the people whose e-mail addresses were stolen) buy from and trust. And though it’s already common for cyber thieves to impersonate credible organizations with what appears to be legitimate e-mail messages that seek to verify account information, this recent breach of security allows cyber thieves to be smarter and even more targeted with their scams. Two Key Lessons First, you need to be a lot more wary of e-mail promotions and communications that ask you to provide your credit card information or to validate your account information (username, password, social security number, etc.). No valid company will ever ask you to send important, confidential information in that manner. Second, this breach serves as a warning to all businesses that they must have the MOST up-to-date security systems in place for their computer network, especially if you handle client data such as credit cards, bank accounts, social security numbers, passwords, client lists and more. Epsilon has responded to the security breach, apologizing to all of those affected, but the damage is done to their organization, not to mention their clients. That’s why we urge all of our clients to enroll in our . This service allows us to monitor your network’s anti-virus, firewall and security settings to make sure your network is fully protected against these damaging events.

“Take my monthly Trivia Challenge and you could win too!” The Grand Prize Winner of last month’s Trivia Challenge Quiz is…drum roll please… ( )! They were the first person to correctly answer my quiz question from last month: What superhero’s alter ego worked for newspaper publisher J. Jonah Jameson? a-Green Lantern, b-Superman, c-Spider-Man, d-Daredevil The correct answer is c, “Spider-Man.” Congratulations, (Winner Name), you’ve won a ($25 Gift Card)! Now, here’s this month’s trivia question. The winner will receive a gift card to (NAME OF STORE OR RESTAURANT) What is the name of the main newspaper for wizards in Harry Potter’s world? a-Words on the Wind, b-The Owl, c-Daily Prophet, d-Wizards Weekly Call me right now with your answer! XXX-XXX-XXXX Get More Free Tips, Tools and Services At My Web Site: (Enter Your Site)

One of the New Year’s resolutions I often have is to get more organized and better manage my time. After all, who doesn’t want to get more done? But a big mistake many people make is thinking ONLY in terms of “more” when it comes to getting things done. Why is this a mistake? Because chances are your plate is already full of to-do items; if you want to accomplish MORE, you’ll have to actually start thinking about what you are going to STOP doing in order to fit in the more important tasks that move you closer to your goals. As we all know, only about 20% of the things you do deliver 80% of the results you want to achieve. Therefore, in order to “get more done,” you have to clearly identify what that 20% is and focus on doing more of those activities, and delegating or ignoring the 80% of time-wasting “stuff” we all get caught up in doing. What are some big time wasters? Not having a plan for your day and reacting to whatever shows up. Constant texting or online surfing. For many, this is a huge addiction and distraction that can waste HOURS. Checking e-mail every 5 minutes. Who Else Wants To Win A $25 Gift Card? “Take my monthly Trivia Challenge and you could win too!” The Grand Prize Winner of last month’s Trivia Challenge Quiz is…drum roll please… ! They were the first person to correctly answer my quiz question from last month: What is the name of the main newspaper for wizards in Harry Potter’s world? a-Words on the Wind, b-The Owl, c-Daily Prophet, d-Wizards Weekly The correct answer is c, “ Daily Prophet.” Congratulations, , you’ve won a ! Now, here’s this month’s trivia question. The winner will receive a gift card to . In the novel Moby Dick, in which American port is the whaling ship Pequod based? a-Nantucket, b-Cooperstown, c-Mystic, d-Boston Call me right now with your answer!